Thanks guys. Actually, savings > 100,000 but I'm time constrained.
An edge that can't be automated, and that only works during RTH is not very flexible. Basically, you are either full time pro trader or not.
Have to be at your workstation pre-market, open, intra and close 5 days a week (plus homework). This is why you need more than starting capital (a lot more).
This edge makes me married to RTH more than I ever thought I would be. I used to think I'd just 'get good enough' and then It would be a convenient part time or full time deal. It turns out that it is the complete opposite. No point in doing anything else, certainly my $50,000 a year job is a joke comparatively.
Actually, you can work part-time and trade full time or work full time at your 50k job and trade part-time (vacations, days of from work, sick days and leave of absence). This will allow you to at least get a verifiable real money trading without impacting your 50k job unless you have some sort'uv "on call" types of job in which you don't have regular schedule work hours as in you work whenver they need you.
I know lots of part time traders with full time jobs with verifable trading record although they are
not seeking capital. The reason why they're not seeking capital because they're slowly growing their account via trading on the days mentioned above.
Yet, your description that it only works in RTH is odd...does that implied you've backtested it and it didn't do well in trading hours outside of RTH
or does it imply it doesn't give trade signals in hours outside of RTH
or does it implied you've only traded it in RTH on your days off from work ???
If this method of yours makes your 50k job a joke like you stated...you'll do whatever it takes to change your work hours / days of work so that you can trade the RTH or find another job (e.g. night job) that you'll be able to trade the RTH.
I've met others that have done the latter...changed their work hours so that they can trade RTH hours.
Last of all, backtest your trade method to determine the duration of the RTH hours that it performs the best (most profits). The results will allow you to determine which time of the day you can not have any conflicts with a job.
For example, if your method performs the best in the morning trade session...change your work hours to the afternoon and evening.
Yet, if there's a family involved...that's very problematic and your only options will be using your days off from work, sick leave and leave of absence for you to trade the RTH hours. Easy problem to fix because as stated...I've met a lot of people that did the above to fix similar like problem as yours.
P.S. There's a guy in the trade journal section with a job that he didn't let conflict with his trading. He stated he had an edge too and his goal was to get a CME membership. It didn't work out too well for him due to changed market conditions that he wasn't able to adjust for.
At least he didn't make the mistake of quitting his job.
wrbtrader
But I guess it's different from your world. Regardless, volatility/true-range-price-action will still confound algos, and different ranges of them over time will spell success or doom for the algos in production. That's a fact, Jack. 
Got little more than a t-shirt. (But I LOVE the commute.)
